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By Maricel E. Burgonio Reporter
THE Philippine public sector
posted a substantial improvement in its financial position in the
first half of the year, the Department of Finance said Wednesday.
In a statement, the department
said the public sector attained a P24-billion surplus in the first
six months of the year, from a P13.389-billion deficit in the same
period last year.
This year’s surplus comprised
0.8 percent of the economy, as measured by the country’s gross
domestic product. This was a reversal from -1.5 percent last year.
The government attributed the
improvement to the surpluses made by the 14 monitored
government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) at a
combined P32.7 billion, local governments at P31.2 billion, social
security institutions at P30.7 billion and government financial
institutions (GFIs) at P5 billion.
Proceeds from the sale of state
assets also contributed to the surplus, as they reached P26.010
billion, slightly higher than the P25.293 billion programmed for the
period.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
suffered from a P31.473-billion deficit, a reversal from the
P11.259-billion surplus last year due to a strong peso and increased
interest payments for banks’ special deposit accounts.
State-run Social Security System,
Government Service Insurance System and Philippine Health Insurance
Corp. posted a combined P30.720-billion surplus, higher than the
P28.831 billion last year.
The surplus of the monitored
GOCCs and GFIs was mainly due to the governance reforms that
enhanced their ability to carry out greater financial discipline and
better resource management, lessening their dependence on government
subsidy.
GFIs also generated
high-operating income from investments.
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